A typical application for such chutes is on a transit concrete mixer, in which such a chute is utilized for distributing still-soft concrete from the mixer drum to a place where the concrete is to be poured. The chute, comprising an outer section and an inner section, is stored on the transit mixer in a folded condition, i.e., with the outer section folded on the inner section. When it is desired to convey concrete from the mixer drum to another location, the outer section of the chute is unfolded into a position of alignment with the inner section, thus providing a chute with aligned sections down which the concrete can be conveyed.
Unfolding of the chute is typically carried out by one or more workers standing near the outer end of the inner chute section, one of whom swings the outer section of the chute about the pivot joint connecting the two sections, allowing the outer section to fall into its position of alignment with the inner section once the outer section passes through an intermediate position near its position of alignment with the inner section. A type of accident that sometimes occurs during this unfolding operation is that one of the workers inadvertently allows his or her hands or fingers to be in an unsafe position when the outer section is passing through its intermediate position into its position of alignment. There is a pinch point region between the adjacent ends of the two sections that is rapidly closed when the outer section passes through its intermediate position, and if the worker's hand or fingers are then within this pinch point region, they could be seriously injured by the falling outer section of the chute, which is quite heavy.